The Interview: What Prevents you from Attracting and Hiring Top Talent

It seems a given that it is incumbent on the candidate to impress the hiring manager during the job interview process. Nearly everyone who has ever applied to and interviewed for a job has experienced the one-way conversations where they do their very best to anticipate and respond to everything the interviewer wants to hear while receiving a neutral “um hmm” along with a subtle nod of the head in return.

This is an old school methodology rooted in the philosophy that an employee is lucky to get an interview and that they should be honored to have an opportunity to maybe become employed at this “workplace of choice”. This is a wonderful way for employers to wade through high volumes of mediocre talent, while letting the superstars get away to their competition. True “top talent” has many options available to them, especially in industries like consulting and other professional services. If you want to attract these top performers to your organization, you need to change the way you interact with them from the very beginning.

So how can a firm stand out from the crowd?

1. Have a clear profile of what an elite employee looks like at your organization.

This, of course, includes their ability to deliver results individually to the markets you serve. However, equally important is to evaluate how the new hire’s personality and strengths will fit with the rest of your organization and its core values so that individual will elevate the performance of everyone around them. Top talent will do this if you let them!

2. When you identify a candidate who is a perfect fit for your profile, recruit and sell them on your organization.

Frankly, you need them more than they need you and the interview process needs to reflect that – it should be a two-way conversation where your goal should be to make the candidate feel as excited about joining your organization as you are to have them. You should have a variety of career path options that are attractive to the candidate and the interview should spend a great deal of time exploring those options for what the next 1, 2, and 5 years will look like.

3. High performers want options; they want to know that when they perform at a level they know they are capable of it will be rewarded and they will continue to grow.

They do not want you to do it for them. The way to impress high performers is to recognize this and show how they will have the opportunity to demonstrate their talent. The most important thing your company can provide them is access to interesting, challenging and meaningful work. Spend your time talking about the problems they can help you solve and let the candidate demonstrate to you how they will do. Don’t ask them to “run through your resume”!

Follow these three rules of thumb and you are sure to attract top talent who will chose to work for your organization above all others.

Want to learn more how to attract top talent to your organization contact: sales@digineer.com